If you've ever dreamed of becoming a published author, this workshop is for you. We’ll cover everything from getting started to getting an agent, from getting your short pieces published to finding a book publisher, from writing a query letter to writing what the publishers want. Bring your questions. Come and get ready to be published!

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He has helped many of his students get their first book published and launch their careers as authors.

Guest speaker Meghan Macdonald is an agent with Transatlantic Literary Agency. Established in 1993 as a Toronto agency specializing in children’s literature, TLA has broadened into an international agency with offices in Canada, the United States and the Netherlands. In addition to its children’s authors, TLA now has more than seventy critically acclaimed, award-winning authors of fiction and non-fiction for adults.

Four agents at TLA are looking for all sorts of authors, including
people writing adult and children’s lit, fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels. Meghan's particular interests include urban fiction, literary fiction, historical fiction (that has been impeccably researched but is still a fictional narrative), and topical exposé non-fiction that is persuasive and/or a sustained polemic.

She is also interested in scholarly non-fiction, particularly historical treatments, that are intelligent but accessible without being simplistic (examples are Augustus by John Buchan, Apocalypse by Neil Faulkner, The Sea Kingdoms by Alistair Moffat, and Sailing The Wine-Dark Sea by Thomas Cahill).

Special Option: Participants are invited to bring a draft of a query letter you might use to interest an agent or publisher in your book. You don’t need to bring anything, but if you do, 3 copies could be helpful.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Hello, Brian.
Firstly, we'd like to thank you for posting our contests on Quick Brown Fox last year. Your blog was our largest source of contest entrants (at least of those who chose to answer the question). We would greatly appreciate it if you could include our contests on your site once again. (Note that the deadlines have changed.)
Best regards,Humberto GutierrezThe New Quarterly
P.S. Your readers should also check out our regular submission guidelines here.

The Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest$1,000 for one glorious poem

Sponsored by TNQ editor Kim Jernigan and family in celebration of the man who sparked their love of poetry, this contest is for poems written in response to an occasion, personal or public – poems of gratitude or grief, poems that celebrate or berate, poems that make of something an occasion or simply mark one.

Another $1,000 in prize money will be distributed as the judges fancy. The best of what we see will be published in The New Quarterly at our usual rates, and posted on our website. Deadline: Postmarked February 28, 2012. Entry fee: $40 for up to 2 unpublished poems, $5 each for additional poems. Submissions include a one-year subscription to The New Quarterly. Full contest details here.

The Peter Hinchcliffe Fiction Award
Sponsored by the St. Jerome's University English Dept.Winning Story: $1,000

For a work of short fiction by a Canadian writer in the early stages. We define a writer in the early stages as someone who has not yet published a first story collection or novel.

Deadline: May 28, 2012. Entry Fee: $40 per submission (includes a one-year subscription to The New Quarterly). There is no word limit; all submissions are judged blind. Though there is only one prize, all submissions will be considered for publication. Full contest details here.

For information about all the annual writing contests in Canada, order the Canadian Writers' Contest Calendar. Just $23.50 including all taxes and shipping. For details email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Approximately three percent of all live births are twins. My own fascination with twins began in grade one when I encountered Tyler and Kyle, identical boys who spoke their own unique language which neither the teacher nor any of us were able to comprehend. In order to communicate with them, we resorted to body language. It was somewhat effective, but we knew that we singles were really outsiders, and frequently the butt of Tyler and Kyle’s private jokes. We called them by one name: the twins. Though individuals, they functioned as two halves of one person; simply put, they were, intriguing.

I was reminded of Tyler and Kyle while reading Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese’s first novel about Shiva and Marion Stone, conjoined twin sons of an Indian nun, who dies during their birth, and the British surgeon who disowns them. This gripping work tells how these boys, even though separated, first by surgery, then by continents and oceans, remain inexplicably interconnected throughout their lives until their destinies finally and irrevocably collide and remain united forever.

Verghese, himself a medical doctor and professor at Stanford, has given his readers fascinating medical information in language lay people can understand. There is the gynecologist's rule for estimating dilation: how wide – lime, lemon, orange or grapefruit? For the men, there's a detailed, step-by-step description of a vascectomy – don't try this at home folks! And for anyone who has faced life and death in a hospital setting there is the Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not operate on the day of the patient’s death.

Cutting for Stone is a story full of detailed description, vivid imagery and characters you will come to know, admire and loathe all in the same breath. Verghese weaves his plot from beginning to end as intricately and delicately as Thomas Stone’s nine fingers perform the ultimate redeeming surgery that matters most. This memorable novel will keep you enthralled and leave you with the certain knowledge that "fixing what is broken is indeed the task of a lifetime." I can assure you that it will leave you eagerly awaiting Verghese’s next novel.

*

Bonnie Bouwman has spent a lifetime observing people, a passion that is reflected in her creative memoir and short story writing. After decades of teaching children, she has begun to hone her own writing skills through creative writing courses. She is an avid book club member and proud library card holder. She is married to her husband Jake. They have five grown children and thirteen grandchildren, a close-knit, loving, but noisy bunch. Along with Virginia Wolf she believes that in order to write fiction, every woman needs a room of her own.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Grain, the journal of eclectic writing, is a literary quarterly that publishes engaging, eclectic, and challenging writing and art by Canadian and international writers and artists. Grain is published by the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild and appears in Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

In the last three years alone, writings published in Grain have been finalists for the Writers' Trust / McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize, nominated for the National Magazine Awards, singled out for inclusion in Best Canadian Poetry (2010 and 2009), Best Canadian Fiction (2011), and in numerous consecutive issues of the Journey Prize Anthology. Grain was a finalist for Magazine of the Year (SK) in the 2010 and the 2011 Western Magazine Awards, and non-fiction in Grain took home first prize in two categories (Student Writing and Gold Awards Best Article–Saskatchewan) in the 2011 Western Magazine Awards.

The annual Short Grain writing contest has two categories:
Poetry: (to a max of 100 lines) Poetry of any style including PROSE POEM up to 100 lines.
Fiction: (to a max of 2,500 words) Short fiction in any form including POST CARD STORY, to a maximum of 2500 words.

Three prizes will be awarded in each category: 1st Prize: $1,000; 2nd Prize: $750; 3rd Prize: $500.
The basic fee for Canadian entrants is $35 for a maximum of two entries in one category. Every entrant receives a one-year (four-issue) subscription to Grain Magazine.

And the Judges are...
For poetry: rob mclennan, author of over 20 trade books of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, including Glengarry (2011) and wild horses (2010).
For fiction: Lawrence Hill, author of The Book of Negroes and winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book.

Deadline: All entries must be postmarked by April 1, 2012.Full contest ruleshere.

Submissions
As a literary quarterly, Grain also accepts regular submissions. Grain has a nine-month reading period, September 1st to May 31st. Manuscripts postmarked and/or received between June 1st and August 31st will not be read nor returned.
Poetry: Individual poems, sequences, or suites up to a maximum of 12 pages.

Fiction: 1 or 2 stories, to a maximum of 5000 words each (stories at the longer end of the word count must be of exceptional quality). Please provide a word count!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Carrie Pestritto joined Prospect Agency in 2011 after working as an assistant at Writers House. With a B.A. in English from Amherst College, she has experienced all sides of the publishing industry, having worked as a ghostwriter, freelance writer, and in the editorial acquisitions department of the Greenwood Publishing Group. As an agent, she loves the thrill of finding new authors with strong, unique voices and working closely with her clients to develop their ideas and manuscripts.

For Carrie, extraordinary fiction and non-fiction share the ability to transport readers to new and exciting places. As a history and mythology buff, she is intrigued by books that introduce her to another culture or time period. She is looking for description and detail that will make her feel like she is inside the story and interest her in a subject she never thought she would want to read about or, conversely, introduce her to startling facts about something or someone she believed she already knew everything about.

Carrie is currently seeking non-fiction, narrative non-fiction, general non-fiction, and some biography and memoir. She is looking for authors who have a strong platform, such as a popular blog, published articles, or related professional experience. Topics such as New England architecture, modern Native American culture, the history of colonialism in literature, or different Cinderella variants throughout different time periods and countries would excite her. She also seeks mainstream prescriptive non-fiction, for example she would love to see a book about the benefits of locavore eating or a completely cutting edge relationship book.

In fiction, she is looking for literary fiction, historical fiction, and mature YA. She would love to see a thriller/mystery about Elizabeth Bathory, otherwise known as “Lady Dracula,” or a novel about a young teacher at a private high school who finds herself attracted to one of her students.

She is not currently interested in romance, science fiction/fantasy, or picture books.

Query Carrie at: carrie@prospectagency.com
Include three chapters and a brief synopsis. Full submission guidelines here.
All five agents at Prospect are currently seeking authors. For a description of their backgrounds and interests, see here.

Brian Henry will lead "How to Get Published" workshops on Saturday, May 12, in Newmarket with guest Meghan Macdonald of Transatlantic Literary Agency (see here), Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here), and on Saturday, June 16, in Hamilton with guest Carly Watters of P.S. Literary Agency (see here).

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

"Writing for Children & for Young Adults,the world's hottest market"
Saturday, June 2, 2012
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Oakville Central Library, 120 Navy Street, Oakville. (Good all day parking on Water Street, across from the canoe club. (Map here.)

Whether you want to write the next best-selling children’s booksor just want to create stories for your own kids, this workshop is for you. Learn how to write stories kids and young adults will love, and find out what you need to know to sell your book.

Special option: You may, but don't have to, bring 2 or 3 copies of the opening couple pages (first 500 words) of your children’s book or young adult novel. (Or if 1,000 words will get you to the end of your picture book or to the end of your first chapter, bring that.) If you’re not currently working on a children’s story, don’t worry, we’ll get you started on the spot!

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He is also the author of a children’s version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Tribute Publishing Inc).

"Brian’s the real deal. He isn't just an inspiring teacher – he's plugged into the publishing world! He got me an agent who sold my first novel, Bitten, to publishers around the world. More recently, my young adult novel, The Awakening, hit number 1 on the New York Times bestsellers' list. And Random House Canada, Bantam U.S. and Little Brown in Britain have contracted my next seven books."~ Kelley Armstrong, Aylmer, Ontario, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Calling and other supernatural thrillers for teens and adults.

In this course you'll explore all kinds of creative writing. We’ll visit short story writing and personal writing, children’s writing, memoir writing, and just for fun writing. You’ll get a shot of inspiration every week and an assignment to keep you going till the next class. Best of all, this class will provide a zero-pressure, totally safe environment, where your words will flow and flower.

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He teaches creative writing at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he's helped many of his students get published.

We are looking for poetry and flash fiction that touches on this theme in any way and comments on the human condition. The writer can interpret the theme very broadly and come at it from whatever direction he or she wishes.

Deadline: January 31, 2012
Entry fee: $5 for one poem or $10 for 3; $10 for flash fiction
Prizes in each category: $100 for 1st place, $50 for 2nd, $25 for 3rd, and six $10 honorable mentions, plus all thrity-two winners and honorable mentions will receive a free copy of the anthology.
Entry information and complete contest rules here.

Children's Story Contest
Stories should be directed to ages 9 to 12 and be approximately 1,500 words. Ten stories will be published in a special anthology with a prize of $200 for the best entry.

Deadline March 31, 2012. Entry fee: $10

After selection, artists-in-residence from T.O.S.H. (The Old School House) will create fine art works to represent the stories. Our goal is to produce a special book that will give children great stories and exposure to a range of contemporary and original artistic styles. All profits will go to support T.O.S.H., a non-profit community arts centre in Qualicum Beach, BC.
Entry information and full contest rules here.

Short Fiction, 1,000 words or less, on literary, science fiction, fantasy and horror or dark main stream
Poetry, preferably short enough to fill a page. (We do not publish long multi-page poems
Short Essays (1000 words or less) on life and the human condition
Reviews of current published works
Visual Art, (Paintings or Photographs) Send 8 jpgs for an exhibit with a bio and a photo.

For information about all the annual writing contests in Canada, order the Canadian Writers' Contest Calendar. Just $23.50 including all taxes and shipping. For details email brianhenry@sympatico.ca
More about the Contest Calendar here.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Hi, Brian:
I have some great news: Canadian Stories magazine will be publishing my memoir of Weyburn ("A Pretty Little Town With a River Running Through It") that I read in the Tuesday afternoon class in Oakville. They’re also publishing a pen and ink sketch that I did of a grain elevator to go with the story.

I'm so happy!!! Thanks for telling us about that magazine and for encouraging us to submit.

Kind Regards,Oksanna Crawley

For information on submitting to Canadian Stories, a literary folk magazine, see here.
For information about upcoming weekly creative writing courses, see here.

Hi, Brian.

I’ve had another short story, "Entertaining Stranger" published on CommuterLit.com, and I’ve also published another short story, "Afterwards," on Chapter and Verse.

I love writing short stories and because as a writer I often feel that I work alone in a vacuum. To have someone else like what has been written feels just like receiving a breath of fresh air, a pat on the back, encouragement to continue.

Your encouragement and support means the world to me. Thank you. :-)Audrey Austin

To read Audrey's stories on CommuterLit, see here. To read her story on Chapter & Verse, see here.For information about submitting to CommuterLit, see here.

Diaspora Dialogues is inviting young writers between 16 and 25 to submit original short-form writing (poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, graphic fiction, or drama) to publish in Shorthand, our new online zine.

Submission deadlines for Shorthand will be rolling. Each submission must be in by 5pm on the 10th of the month previous to the month of publication. (February 10th for the March issue, March 10th for April issue, etc.)

Diaspora Dialogues supports the creation and presentation of new stories, poetry and drama that reflect the complexity of Toronto through the eyes of its richly diverse writers. For more information, please visit us here.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Lola’s not pretty. Lola’s not popular. Lola wishes she could disappear, and then one day she does....

For seventeen-year-old Lola Savullo, life is a struggle. Born to funky parents who are more in than she could ever be, Lola’s dream of becoming a writer makes her an outsider even in her own home. Bullied and despised, Lola still has the support of her best pal Charlie and Grandma Rose.

Not only is she freakishly tall, Lola’s a big girl and when forced to wear a bathing suit at her summer job as a camp counselor, Lola’s only escape from deep embarrassment seems to be to literally vanish. Soon after, she discovers the roots of her new “ability”.

Slowly, with Charlie’s help, Lola learns to control the new super power. The possibilities are endless. Yet power can be abused, too…

Then, when tragedy strikes, Lola must summon her inner strength, both at home and at school. She has to stand up for herself, despite the temptations and possibilities of her newfound super power.

You can buy Invisible in various formats for just $2.99 here. Check out Jeanne's blog here.

Dear Brian,
I am honoured to invite you to the official book launch of my third book of poetry, After Philosophy, published by bojit press in Toronto. I hope you can join me for this long-awaited (at least for me!) launch of a book of which I am so proud.

The book launch, which is a joint one with Brandon Pitts, who is launching his own book of poetry, Pressure to Sing, will be held at the Masonic Lodge, 11 Thomas Street, Streetsville, Ontario, from 2 to 4 pm on Sunday, January 22, 2012.

Please pass this invitation on to others, as well. Everyone's welcome.

I hope you'll be able to join me. If not, you can order After Philosophy, as well as my previous books, from my website at here.
Sincerely,Saskia van Tetering

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Farley Chase recently founded Chase Literary Agency after nearly eight years with the Waxman Literary Agency. Before becoming an agent he worked in magazines; at both The New Yorker and Talk magazine, and at publishing companies; both The New Press and Miramax Books.

Interests: "I'm excited to hear about new ideas in memoir, journalism, science, natural history, military history, food, sports, international affairs, current events, business or biography. I’m drawn to voice-driven and original content written by authors distinguished by an expertise and passion for conveying what is new, interesting and/or entertaining about their subject matter.

"I'm interested in humor books and pop culture projects.

"I’m interested in photo, graphic, and otherwise illustrated books.

"I'm interested in books that can be adapted out of blogs or websites.

"My fiction list is selective and I concentrate on plot driven novels with a strong sense of voice, place and character. I do not represent young adult, romance, or science fiction.

"I'm actively looking for new clients."

Query Farley Chase at:farley@chaseliterary.com
"I prefer straightforward query letters that get right to the point about what the project is and which show the author to be familiar with the marketplace. If you're submitting fiction please include the first few pages of the manuscript with the query. I do not represent young adult, romance, or science fiction."

Farley Chase's website isn't up and running yet. (His agency is that new.) But his page at Publisher's Marketplace includes a list of books he's represented in various genres. See here.

Brian Henry will lead a "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).

In this course you'll explore all kinds of creative writing. We’ll visit short story writing and personal writing, children’s writing, memoir writing, and just for fun writing. You’ll get a shot of inspiration every week and an assignment to keep you going till the next class. Best of all, this class will provide a zero-pressure, totally safe environment, where your words will flow and flower.

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He teaches creative writing at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he's helped many of his students get published.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

This is the final instalment of Jean Rae Baxter’s best-selling young adult trilogy. Eighteen-year-old Charlotte sails from Canada to Charleston during these final months of the American Revolution.

Charlotte needs all her wit and courage when she has to rescue Nick from being tortured as a spy in an alligator-infested South Carolina swamp. She must also find ways to bring freedom to a pair of teenage runaway slaves she has befriended.

Freedom Bound delivers a frank and realistic picture of the slave system and a powerful account of what was at stake for both white and black Loyalists as they prepared to find a new home in the country that was soon to be Canada.

Like The Way Lies North and Broken Trail, the two novels that preceded it, Freedom Bound contains a wealth of carefully researched historical details of one of the least known chapters of our history.

Freedom Bound will be released Febraury 1, 2012. and will be available in bookstores or directly from the publisher, Ronsdale Press. But you can buy a signed copy from the author at the "How to Write Great Characters" workshop on February 4, where Jean will be the guest speaker. Details here.

Monday, January 16, 2012

"Whoa! Two contests for short shorts!"
"Yeah, and one of them's free!"

The Writer’s Union of Canada Postcard Story Competition
The Writers’ Union of Canada is pleased to announce that submissions are being accepted for its annual Postcard Story Competition for the best Canadian story of up to 250 words in the English language. Are you up for the challenge? Can you create a dramatic, short, snappy piece in only 250 words? You can use humour, poetry, dialogue… anything goes!

Award: $750 and the winning entry will be published in Write: The Magazine of The Writers' Union of Canada and in postcard format.

Eligibility: This competition is open to all Canadian citizens and landed immigrants. Story must be previously unpublished, fiction or nonfiction.

For a great example of a winning entry, read "The Invasion of the Snotty Badgers" by Karin Weber – it will only take you a minute. See here.

The Binnacle's free ultra-short competition for prose or poetry
The Binnacle is the University of Maine’s Literary and Arts magazine. It accepts submissions from writers all over the world and sponsors an annual contest that everybody should enter: The Binnacle’s ultra-short competition. There’s no fee and your piece doesn’t have to be long at all. In fact, for prose and poetry the maximum length is 150 words (sixteen lines max for poems).

All submissions should be made via email to ummbinnacle@maine.edu
Please include the work in the body of the email.

Winning entries will be published, and a minimum of $300 in cash awards will be awarded, with a minimum award of $50. At least one of the awards will go to a UMM student. Please submit no more than two works total, prose and/or poetry. When you submit your work, please be sure to include your postal address as well as a thirty-five to fifty word self-description.

Regular submissions:
As a literary journal, The Binnacle accepts submissions, too, both from the students, faculty, and staff of the University of Maine at Machias and from writers and artists anywhere in the world. Please submit original poetry, short fiction, short short fiction, creative non-fiction, as well as photography and other works of visual art, both color and black and white. Please limit submissions to 2500 words.

The Binnacle accepts submissions year round, with submissions made September 15 to March 15 considered for the spring edition and submissions made March 15 to Oct 15 for the fall edition.

For information about all the annual writing contests in Canada, order the Canadian Writers' Contest Calendar. Just $23.50 including shipping. For details email brianhenry@sympatico.ca
More about the Contest Calendar here.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Having no ability to play music, to paint, to keep green things alive, my options are limited for creative self-fulfillment. From my very first memories, there has been a book near my bed – a book from school, from the public library, or the one my father was reading to me, sans bookmark. (We had to memorize the page, or he would not read to us the next night!)

Books have been a comfort through my childhood, through high school, through college, and into my adult life. A book is what I placed into the hands of my 15-month-old son when my identical twins were born. "Here sweetie, read to Mummie!"

There is something sensual about a book. Hardcover or paperback. Novel or short story. Fiction or study guide. It engages my eyes, my ears (flip, flip, flip,). A dusty old dusty copy of King Lear makes me sneeze when I caress the yellowed pages, the rumpled covers and profound words.

I usually have a hot beverage nearby, an unscented tea light flickering; perhaps heat from a nearby electric fireplace, but the feel of the book is paramount.

"I will never use an eReader!" I told my son. "It doesn't bend! But I will look into it for you."

The excuses continued to build as I paced through my local bookstore. A helpful young woman saw that I was trying to justify approaching the eReader zone. I listened to what she said and remembered nothing but still walked out with the little box in tow.

At home, even I could figure out how to charge it, download the installation data onto my PC, sync the 200 free e-books onto the Kobo, and marvel at the tingles I felt at the back of my neck. It was working! I could do this! No need for a teenager to thrust me aside and say, "Here, let me, Mum."

I sat a little taller, almost giddy at the thought of holding 200 books in my left hand. I even dared to buy a book, with credit card in hand, just to see if I could accomplish this, never stepping foot out of my home.

The Kobo (anagram of book?) has black text on a grey backdrop, rather than glaring white pages. The font can be changed to one of their limited options, allowing me to feel slightly in control. The size of the font can be magnified as the day progresses and my eyes fatigue. I can change from a tiny concise font for books, to a large decadent fancy font for poetry.

The entire thing is touch screen (no buttons) – there is an on/off for sleep mode and a menu button discreetly placed at the bottom centre. Nothing else distracts the eye from the words. No pictures (except of the cover). No adverts. Nothing but a tiny reference to what page you are on, and the remaining number of pages to go in the chapter.

I am entranced. This Kobo is my new pet (allergies prevent any other kind). It has barely left my side. It is the start of a beautiful friendship.

***

When not skulking in the lobby of the Stratford Festival hoping for a rush seat in the balcony, Francine Lee can be found in flux between watching Henry Fonda in Grapes of Wrath again, or Archimedes in The Sword in the Stone. Someday she hopes to grow up to be older than her 4 children! ;-) Until then, back to the kitchen for another batch of peasant soup.

Friday, January 13, 2012

McClelland & Stewart, the Canadian publisher of Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Leonard Cohen and Alice Munro, and one of the country’s most storied cultural institutions, has been sold to Random House of Canada, its long-time part-owner.

In 2000, Toronto real-estate developer Avie Bennett, who acquired the company in 1986, donated 75% of the publisher to the University of Toronto and sold the remaining 25% to Random House of Canada, a partnership with existed, relatively unchanged, for the past 11 years.

However, according to a press release announcing the sale, the “challenges facing publishers, including a difficult economy and digital-driven transitions facing the industry, have put significant pressure on M&S, and it has been experiencing financial challenges.”

“We believe with McClelland & Stewart fully within the Random House of Canada family we will more effectively be able to meet these challenges to ensure the growth and long-term stability of this iconic Canadian publisher,” said Brad Martin, Random House of Canada’s president and CEO, in a statement.

Michael Ondaatje

Said University of Toronto President David Naylor: “We greatly respect the care and attention with which Random House of Canada has managed their 25% ownership over the past eleven years and are confident that Random House of Canada’s commitment to McClelland & Stewart will help it achieve even greater success in the future.”

He was unavailable for further comment.

Random House of Canada is owned by German conglomerate Bertelsmann AG. However, according to the press release, the “needed regulatory approval has been obtained from the responsible authority.”

According to the press release, Random House of Canada intends to maintain the M&S imprint, as well as the New Canadian Library, Emblem Editions, Signal, and Tundra Books, the company’s children’s book division. Support was also promised for M&S’s lauded poetry program, as well as to fund the Journey Prize, an annual short story award for emerging writers, and its accompanying anthology.

Leonard Cohen

“Random House of Canada has been a wonderful partner for McClelland & Stewart for the past eleven years,” said Bennett in a statement. “The commitments they have made to upholding the tradition of M&S and the ongoing focus on Canadian publishing assures me that M&S is in good hands.”

Thus far, no staffing changes have been announced. Doug Pepper, M&S’s president and publisher since 2004, has been named to Random House of Canada’s Executive Committee. Also staying on is Executive Vice President and highly-regarded editor, Ellen Seligman. Although M&S maintained editorial independence from its corporate parent (and even competes against it when it came to signing authors) Random House of Canada shared support services with M&S, including sales, production, design and human resources. “Our processes really aren’t going to change that much, since we already are really quite integrated with them,” said Pepper in an interview.

“In a pretty challenging marketplace, especially in Canadian publishing, the kind of stability and vision for growth that Random House – not just in Canada but around the world – gives us is a good thing,” he added.

“It’s just a logical extension of what they’ve been doing all along,” agreed Toronto-based literary agent Denise Bukowski, who started her career at M&S. “I worked there for a long time in the 70s, and it’s a very beloved place to me. But I think it can only benefit from the kinds of modernization that Random House will bring to it."

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Home Truths by Jill MacLean, a YA book
published by Dancing Cat Books
& nominated for the Red Maple Award

Dancing Cat Books is a new imprint of Cormorant Books. Dancing Cat publishes literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for the young adult and middle-grades, as well as picture books.

"The goal of Dancing Cat Books is to develop and nurture lifelong readers. We aim to begin children’s engagement with the power of the written word by publishing books that reflect their worlds and respect their points of view. Our books will endure because of character-driven story lines, evocative language, complex themes, and quality artwork.

"Dancing Cat Books is currently accepting submissions for young adult and middle grade fiction. We are not currently accepting children's picture book submissions."

Submissions:
Send a complete manuscript by mail. Include an author CV, for chapter books, a brief synopsis of the work (no more than 200 words), and a self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of manuscript.

For Artists:
"We are looking for art portfolios (3 to 6 colour or black and white digital proofs) from artists who include a full biography and website address or online portfolio, if available."

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The latest stats on e-readers and print books suggests that the prediction I've been making that we'll move to e-books as the norm within a decade or so may be off. The number of people buying e-book readers (and e-books) continues to soar, but the number of people saying they certainly won't be buying an e-reader has also solidified at just over half (and in fact has increased marginally).

On the other hand, as I've also been predicting, the advent of tablet computers and colour e-book readers is set to cause a boom in e-book sales for children's books.

The next big trend – that's still over the horizon – will be when authors begin specifically to write for e-books and begin to incorporate colour visuals into their works, and books will begin looking more like this blog and other attractive on-line media.– Brian

For the third consecutive year, at Digital Book World later this month, Jack McKeown from Verso Digital (and Books & Books Westhampton Beach) will present original consumer survey data and analysis on consumer habits regarding both ebooks and print books, from responses elicited from over 2,200 respondents after November's "Cyber Monday."

By their results, ereader ownership could as much as double over the next year--6.4 percent of respondents are "very likely" to purchase, and another 9.9 percent are somewhat likely, with 15.8 percent of people saying they "already own" an reader. (That ownership percentage is roughly consistent with what Bowker PubTrack's monthly survey has found.)

But perhaps most striking is that 51.8 percent of those surveyed said they are "not at all likely" to buy an ereader in the year ahead, the first time that number has been above half. As McKeown observes, "While e-reader ownership rates have increased in a dramatic fashion since our first survey in December, 2009, so too has the level of resistance.

The dynamic movement highlighted in this data suggests that over time, consumers have moved out of the 'not sure' category in one of two directions: a.) toward actual ownership, or a high probability of near-term ownership of a dedicated e-reader; or b.) into the ranks of resistors for whom the devices do not yet offer a compelling 'relative advantage' to overcome their conservatism re: printed books."

Meanwhile, Verso found that even ereader owners continue to say they buy basically equal numbers of ebooks and print books. (That's echoed by Amazon executive Russ Grandinetti at Amazon, who confirms to USA Today what has been the prevailing trend at the etailer: print and digital sales are both up, but 'digital is growing significantly faster'"--at least in units.) McKeown writes, "This points to an evolving hybrid market in which print and digital channels will need to co-exist and supplement each other in order to satisfy the expressed consumer preference for both formats. This has interesting ramifications for the future of bricks-and-mortar retail, as well as for new formats such as bundled e-books/print books."

Will Tablets Fire the Children's Market?
With color reading tablets like Kindle Fire, the Nook Tablet and Kobo Vox selling strongly over the holidays and pulling consumers from plain old eInk reading devices, the market for digital children's books is poised for takeoff.

After initial strength from the iOS market and the Nook Kids, the new devices raise the question again of whether ebooks, enhanced files, apps or other platforms will lead the way.
…
Our own deal data confirms children's books as one of publishing’s key growth areas, and now the technology is prompting a real boost in digital children's products.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Hi Brian,
My name is Vivek and I am Director of Dreams Wedding Show based in Oakville. Dreams initially started as Wedding Show in 2007. Since then, we’ve organized some fashion shows with multicultural brides fashions.

Now we’re publishing a Dreams Wedding Magazine, I would like to invite writers to submit articles about weddings, parties, travel, relationships, etc. Articles are also welcome for publication on our blog.

Monday, January 9, 2012

﻿ ﻿﻿ The Toronto Star’s 2012 Short Story Contest – one of the largest in North America – is now open for entries.

The contest, which is now in its 34th year and is open to all Ontario residents aged 16 and older, attracted nearly 2,100 entries last year.

The winner of the contest will receive a grand prize of $5,000 plus the tuition fee for the 30-week creative writing correspondence program at the Humber School for Writers (normally overpriced at $3,000). In addition, the second-place winner will receive a prize of $2,000 and the third-place winner will receive $1,000.

For the third consecutive year, the Toronto Public Library is a partner with the Star in presenting the contest. “The library is very pleased to join the Star in encouraging writers of this wonderful literary form. We know there are thousands of stories waiting to be told, and we wish all this year’s entrants the best of luck,” said Jane Pyper, city librarian of the Toronto Public Library.

The Humber School for Writers is also a partner in the contest.

The judges for the 2012 contest are Jessica Westhead, author of the short story collection And Also Sharks; Jane Pyper, city librarian of the Toronto Public Library; Richard Ouzounian, theatre critic for the Toronto Star and author of six books; and Dianne Rinehart, the Star’s books editor.

The winners will be announced in April during the library’s Keep Toronto Reading Festival. Their stories will be published in the Toronto Star.

Deadline for submitting entries is Feb. 26, 2012.
Stories must be written in English and must not exceed 2,500 words.
No entry fee. For full contest rules, see here.

For information about all the annual writing contests in Canada, order the Canadian Writers' Contest Calendar. Just $23.50 including shipping. For details email brianhenry@sympatico.ca. More about the Contest Calendar here.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Sometimes I just don’t listen. My husband Steve keeps telling me that my truck has seen better days, there is just too much wrong that needs work, and I really need to trade it in for something more reliable.

But as I said, sometimes I just don’t listen. My truck hauls around a lot of memories and I’m not ready to part with it. Besides, I like being high up and looking down upon all the little people.

But as I’m driving home today, I notice lights from a train coming in the distance, and I hurry it up a little so that I don’t get stuck at the level crossing waiting for the train to pass. I gun the gas and my truck goes into its usual overdrive.

But then it happens. She stalls – stalls right on the tracks. Then the gate comes down across the hood, and there I am – stuck on the tracks. My mind’s racing as I keep trying to start the truck again, and I’m too freaked to realize I should get out and run.

I look up to see the train speeding toward me, and that’s when the horror hits: I am going to die.

There’s the sound of screeching brakes, a piercing whistle, then darkness.

They say that your life flashes before your eyes. Well, the only thing flashing by me was all the bad decisions I ever made. Selfishness, greed, self-preservation – they led to a lot of bad choices for what I told myself were good reasons.

“The train hit the back of your truck and spun it out. An ambulance is on its way, but I think you’ll be all right.”

Yes, I think I will be … not just all right, but much better.

Photos: Napa Valley Wine Train and a section of the Eagle Nebula taken from the Hubble Telescope

Catherine “Cat” Wilson is a mystery writer in the making, she has been writing since she was fifteen and has a poem published in a national anthology. She also helped write and edit “A Journey Through Time” the Art of Steve Wilson, published in 2011. She hopes to have her first novel finished in 2012. She currently lives in Brampton with her husband Steve and her two dogs.

Brian Henry has been a book editor, writer, and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He teaches creative writing at Ryerson University. He also leads weekly creative writing courses in Burlington, Mississauga, Oakville and Georgetown and conducts Saturday workshops throughout Ontario. His proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published.